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Oct. 19 1926.

M. E. LAY NE SHAFT COUPLING Filed Jan. 31, 1925 Patented Oct. 1, 1926,

FFEQEQ MAHLON E. LAYNE, OF HOUSTON, TEXAS, ASSIGNOR TO LAYNE & BOWLER CORPORA- TION, 0]? LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION OF CALIFORNIA.

SHAFT COUPLING.

Application fi led January 31, 1925. Serial No. 6,156.

T his invention relates to the art of rotary deep well pumps and refers particularly to the coupling ofthe line shafting for such deep well pumps.

The type of deep well pumps .to which this invention relates, generally includes a pump proper including one or more rotary impellers in their housings, which pump proper is suspended by a dlscharge casing for the pump or a discharge caslng and a shaft enclosing casing within the discharge.

through supporting a shaft enclosing casing which in turn provides bearings for the shaft.

For this purpose, what is termed spiders are commonly employed, the spiders embodying an outer sleeve or collar connected by webs to an inner sleeve or bearing for engagement witheither thepum-p shaft or the shaft enclosing casing. As commonly constructed, the pump shafting thus de scribed has a. tendency to vibrate from the top to. bottom, increasing the resistance to the pumping action and increasing the wear on the several parts of the apparatus. Moreover, the couplings or spiders heretofore employed for the purpose described, decrease the discharge area of the discharge casing with the result that the capacity of the pump is lowered and that the water'or other fluid pumped is caused to pass the spiders with an increased veloclty w th the resulting increase of power consumed.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a rotary pump mechanism, with a line shafting which will have a substantially reduced tendency to vibrate during operation and in carryingout this object ofthe invention, it-has been found that,-by distributing the spiders of the line shaftat irregular or unequal distancesapart throughoutthe discharge column, the rhythm, or time efiect, is broken, reducing v bration of the present general type of shaft column and thereby such vibration substantially decreased, if not entirely eliminated.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a spider for a deep well rotary purrp mechanism by which the capacity of the discharge casing may be maintained throughout the shaft column thus eliminating the increased velocity by the spider, common with the present types of such mecha- 311517).

Another object of the present invention is to provide a shaft column, or a spider by which a shaft column may be formed, with rounded projections at the spiders which will facilitate the installation of the apparates.

A further. object of the invention is to provide a spider having an outer wall which will extendbeyond the normal diameter of the discharge casing and is provided with grooves to permit passage of pipes, or ducts, such as oil lines, down along the exterior of the column at the same time providing such column as will have surfaces projecting beyond such lines to prevent wear thereon in the installation of the apparatus.

Various other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear from the following description of the preferred form or embodiment of the invention, for which purpose reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which a preferred example of rotary pump mechanism embodying all of the features of the present invention is disclosed.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure l is an elevation of the upper portion of the pump mechanism.

Fig. '2 is an elevation of alower portion of the assembled pump mechanism, Figures 1 and 2 being indicated as broken off along the lines aa.

--design containing. one or more impeller housings 3 which are understood as enclosing impellers secured to a pump shaft 4. This pump shaft 4 extends vertically from the pump proper 2 to the top of the wel'l, where it may be driven by any suitable means, such means being indicated by the exterior housing 5 of an electric motor. The pump proper 2 is suspended from the well by its discharge casing 6 and by a casing 7 which is employed for enclosing the pump shaft 4: from the fluid passing through the casing 6. The shaft enclosing casing 7 is indicated as provided with bearing blocks 8 for supporting the pum shafts; against weaving, the blocks 8 pre erably having exterior surfaces threaded to provide a means for connecting adjacent ends of the shaft enclosing casing 7. The pump shaft 4 may, as is usual, be composed of a plurality of sections held together by suitable couplin s 9 The discharge casing 6 of the pump is indicated as made up of a number of sections, certain of which may be joined by plain collars 10 and certain of which are joined together by spiders 11 which also serve to impart the rigidity of the shaft cas'in 6 to the shaft enclosing casing 7, therehy through the bearings 8 of said casing, holding the pump shaft against weaving in operation. These spiders 11 generally include a short sleeve 12 which, in the preferred embodiment of the invention, has its inner surface tapered to expand upwardly and thus provide room for wedge members 18 which may be driven between the sleeve 12 and shaft enclosing casing 7 to firmly secure the spider thereto. The inner sleeve 12 is preferably integral with a plurality of radially extending webs 14:, three of which are indicated, such webs connecting at their outer ends with a coupling part or sleeve 15, the opposed ends of the inner Walls of which are threaded as indicated at 16 to adjacent sections of the discharge casing 6. The coupling part15 of the s ider is of greater length than the width 0 the webs 14 and where said webs join such coupling part the same is expanded outwardly, preferabl being ball form, such expansion being pre erably sufficientto compensatefor reduction of fluid passage in the discharge column caused by the inner sleeve 12 andwebs 14 of the spider. The webs permit thinning up of the material in the larger internal diameter of the spider, which makes it possible to accomplish two important things with such spiders one, to lower the velocity of fluid passing through the spider for a given discharge rate, and second; t l wer the velocity of fluid passing throug the spider for a gi n. external iameter.

s shown n Figure 4., t webs .14 cf he spid are nl rged at their ou r ends 18 where they join the ccupiiug' part 150i the spider, sufficiently-to permit the formapoint out that this constitutes an important feature of the invention and has been found to prevent or to substantially reduce vibra tion of the shaft column as a whole through breaking up of the rhythm of time effect along the shaft column. It is not intended to limit this feature of the invention to placing such spiders at any particular unequal distance along the shaft column or to having all of such spiders at unequal length, as various positions of the spiders and the placing at unequal distance of only some of the spiders, will perform the object of the invention at least to a marked extent.

Amon the advanta es of the present invention is that by placing the spider column couplings at various distances apart, it has been found in practice that a very much less number of such spider column couplings are necessary to eliminate vibration, thereby fieatly reducing the cost of the column. oreover, by having them unequally spaced and laced at greater distances apart than are t e ordinary spider couplings now commonly used three advantages are o'btained- (let) a less number are required, thereby cheapening construction; (2nd) rhythmic vibration is eliminated; and (3rd") shaft threshing or hammeringfrom one'side of the bearing to the other is greatly reduced. Furthermore, by having a fewer number of fixed spiders spaced at greater and unequal distances apart, slight disalignment of the discharge pipe and shaft bearing casing operateshighly advantageously to the operation of the shaft column for the reason that slight disalignment of the bearings occuring at greater and unequal distances apart permits the shaftingto constantly contactupon one side only of the bearin sj, without undue friction or binding of t e shafting.

This contact into the shaftin'g' upon one side only of the bearings prevents the shaft from hammering or threshing on different sid s f the bearing d ring th peri d f otati n, p rmi i g a er i a sh o operate similar t that cf a oriz nt s aft wh c is in constant conta t ith on side nly. of

der. euplin placed, an unequal ene s a orig as she column perform the two important functions of (1st) breaking the rhythmic vibration of the shaft bearing above and below the unequally spaced spider couplings; and (2nd) preventing the whipping of the shafting.

It should be understood that the feature of providing grooves in the enlarged portion of the spider couplings is essential only to the preferred embodiment of the invention. Moreover, the feature of having the shaft couplings at unequal distances along the shaft columns is not necessarily limited to the use of spider couplings having an enlarged capacity or other features of the invention, nor is the feature of having the spider couplings of an enlarged capacity necessarily limited to the feature of having the spiders disposed at unequal distances along the shaft column; such features may be used independently of any combination, as desired. 7

It is moreover to be pointed out that the feature of the enlarged capacity spider coupling is not necessarily limited to having a rounded outer portion, although the rounding of the outer portion is an advantage for the reasons described. The enlt'LI GCl rounded portion of the coupling is further highly advantageous over a straight or cylindrical wall coupling in that it has a reduced tendency to distort or disrupt the inner wall of the Well casing through which the pump is to pass.

While the form of the invention herein described is Well suited for accomplishing the purposes of this invention, it is not intended to limit the invention to the particular description, as various modifications may be made therein Without departing from the spirit of the invention. The invention is, therefore, of the scope set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A spider of the class described, comprising an inner sleeve member connected to a plurality of webs connected in turn to an outer sleeve or coupling member, said memher being expanded centrally sufficient to compensate for the reduction in area caused by said inner sleeve and Web.

2. A spider of the class described, comprising an outer coupling member having its center expanded and webs extending inwardly therefrom and supporting an interior lar ed where thev 'oin such outer member and longitudinal grooves alined with said Webs formed in said outer member.

6. In a rotary pump mechanism, the combination of a pump proper suspended by a discharge casing provided with spiders, a pump shaft and a shaft enclosing casing providing bearings therefor, said casing being engaged by such spiders, the spiders being expanded outwardly beyond the normal wall of the discharge casing to maintain the full area of the discharge column.

Signed at Houston, Texas, this fifth day of December 1924.

MAHLON E. LAYN E. 

